Morcambe And Wise, a decade too early

[stuart.uk]

I know some in America know of Eric Morcambe and Ernie Wise because of their appearences on The Ed Sullivan show in the 60s.

Eric and Ernie were by this time big tv stars in the UK and naturally enough they went into films and made four. The Intelligence Men, a daft James Bond type spoof, a half decent The Riviera Touch with a Canadian actress i like called Suzanne Llyod and perhaps their best, but still not a classic The Magnificent Two with Margit Saad as a rebel army Officer , where Eric is the double of a Latin American dictator in a foriegn land.

sadly Eric had a second massive heart attack in the early 80s which slowed him down considerably and when they made their last fim Night Train To Murder with Lysette Anthony they were past their best. not long after Eric, still young, died, disppointed they never made a film worthy of their talents

the first three films were written by the two guys that did there 60s shows Green and Hills, but not long after Eric and Ernie left ITV for the BBC Eric had his first massive heart attack and as a result the writers went back to ITV. however, Eric recovered and they hired writer Eddie Braden and the rest was tv history. in the 60s Ernie was the straightman to Eric's clown, but they were reinvented by Eddie who made Ernie funnier and Eric while still brilliantly funny, smarter and more worldly.

while i accept in cinematic terms Laurel And Hardy were the all-time double act, i also believe Eric and Ernie in those 1970s BBC tv shows were better. as well as great comics they could sing and dance, doing great routines with all star guests like a Fred And Ginger type dance routine with Glenda Jackson, a Gene Kelly naval type number with Cliff Richard and a modern song and dance number with Diana Rigg in a period setting. what folk might be interested in was a sketch they did about Anthony And Cleopatra with Glenda was an American producer saw it and on the strength of it offered her, her Oscar winning A Touch Of Class, saying she had a talent for comedy. Ernie often said jokingly afterwards
'I wonder what he thought we were doing.'

Eric And Ernie were victims of their own success with expectations high for future shows, particulary the Christmas Day ones which were increbibly stressful, particulary for Eric who was a known worrier. looking back it might have been better if they'd cut back on their tv work and made a couple of movies instead, because at this time they were at their pk and ten times the performers they were at the time of their 60s films

Eddie also created a regular sketch for the boys, probably inspired by Neil Simon's Odd Couple. they still played themselves and would often invite future guests around to discuss the next show. That in itself would have been a great movie. Ernie was like a British Jack Lemon and Eric like Walter matthou

many of their great dance routines some of which i've mentioned can be seen on You Tube. here's something hopefully that will wet your appitite

YouTube - Diana Rigg - Morecambe & Wise
This is a clip of Diana Rigg on Morecambe and Wise. If you're interested in seeing the rest of this and other rare Diana Rigg clips, please visit http://www.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=elvuV0nd8JU · Cached page

[jdb1]

A season of M&W's TV show ran in the NYC area in the 1970s. I don't really remember the details of the show, but I do remember that I enjoyed it. There was a play on Broadway last season that didn't run too long, but had good reviews. It was supposedly based on M&W's routines -- now what was it called - "The Play What I Wrote," I think.

I have seen photos of that statue of Eric in the City of Morcambe. It's wonderful - we could use a few like that here in New York.

[stuart.uk]

Yes there was a tribute show that ran on Broadway. i remember because there were headlines of guest artist Roger Moore having a heart flutter, to which he's recovered with a pacemaker installed

Ernie as in his shows character believed himself to be a great writer, hense the catchphrase The Play What I Wrote, though he wasn't that good, which was what the audience were supposed to believe. other cathchphrases were. Eric 'What Do You Think Of The Show So Far, Rubbish.' Eric speaking to Ernie in the flat 'How about a cup of tea Ern.'
They used to take the micky out of singer Des O'Conner, who was a great mate of theirs. Eric again Des, Short For Desperate.' Des told the story of asking his audience to pray for Eric after he had a massive heart attack. Eric lying in his hospital bed found out about it 'Those 7 or 8 people made all the difference